Meta agreed to pay $17 billion and add stronger child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms in a landmark legal settlement on Wednesday that ended a court battle over teen social media addiction and resolved claims filed by 47 states, including Maine.
Under the settlement, Maine will receive no less than $56 million, said state Attorney General Aaron Frey. The settlement is subject to court approval.
“This hard-fought settlement provides important protections for children on Meta’s platforms, Instagram and Facebook, and empowers parents with tools to help address the negative impacts of social media use on children,” Frey said via email.
Meta has agreed to measures designed to ensure that children under 13 are not on its platforms, Frey said. The settlement resolves a pivotal years-long case aimed at holding the tech giant accountable for its role in hooking children’s attention and harming their mental health.
“While this settlement is an important step, the need to make social media safer for children must extend to the entire industry,” Frey said. “We will continue to work with our multistate partners to push for comprehensive changes that prioritize the safety and welfare of children over profit.”
The states charged that Meta designed Instagram with addictive features, knowingly exposed young users to serious mental harms and intentionally misled the public about the safety of its platforms, among other things.
“This settlement is a victory for the protection of America’s children and an important first step to transform how the entire social media industry designs products for kids and teens,” Frey said.
The attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming joined the settlement.
This is a developing story.
